The Tripadvisor Reviews of Kimpton Edinburgh

Whereas my review of the Kimpton Edinburgh is mixed. The Tripadvisor reviews are very positive. This reminds me why I find Tripadvisor so difficult to use these days.

The positive Tripadvisor reviews mention that the hotel is stylish and has a great location. In my review here, I also mention that the hotel is stylish and has a good location.

But I also mention the shortcomings of the hotel. My room was small, there was no bath-tub and there was no in-room coffee machine.

I try to provide a balanced view of the hotel, so you know if it's right for you.

I think the lesson is. This is a luxury Edinburgh Hotel, just not to my taste!

What I liked

• Uber stylish urban hotel
  
• Unique hotel – made up of 7 townhouses
  
• On site spa and pool
  
• Decent breakfast
  
• Excellent Central Edinburgh Location
  
  

What Could Be Improved

• Small bedroom, overlooking the bins
  
• No in room coffee machine
  
• No in-room water
  
• No in room bath (just a shower)
  
• Disappointing treatment as an IHG elite
  
• Not ideal for families
  
• The wine hour was awful
  

The Location

The Kimpton Edinburgh occupies a fabulous location on Charlotte Square in the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland. The hotel has access to the garden on Charlotte Square.

The hotel is across the road from the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh (my review is here). Which is a fabulous hotel with great views of Edinburgh Castle. But I was upset that my room didn’t have a view of Edinburgh castle!

The Kimpton is 2 minutes from Princes Street and 10 minutes walk from the Castle. As locations go, it’s just about perfect for Edinburgh.

The hotel is 8 miles from the airport. The journey takes around 30 minutes by car. I paid £40 to get a taxi from the airport. I didn’t use Uber as Uber don’t have a good reputation in Edinburgh.

I booked a taxi. The company I use have a 4.9* rating from Trustpilot, from over 45,000 reviews. As they’re reliable and have fair prices.

Book your taxi here or use the form below.

The Best Activities in Edinburgh – Cheaper than London

Edinburgh is a fantastic city for visitors. Full of history, cobble stoned paths, a beautiful castle and great whisky. Below are some of the most popular things to do when you visit.

And as a Londoner, I would note that the attractions are cheaper than you might expect.

Edinburgh Castle – A Must Visit

Edinburgh Castle is the most famous attraction in Edinburgh. Book your tickets here for £37. You’ll see breathtaking views from Castle Rock. Attractions include three museums, two prisons and a cemetery. Tour is rated 4.7* from over 11,000 reviews.

Camera Obscura World of Illusions

Camera Obscura is a museum of illusions – book here for £24. There are other illusion museums worldwide, but this is the best (probably!). It’s rated 4.6* from over 1,500 reviews. I had a blast when I was there. 5 floors of fun and an amazing rooftop with views of Edinburgh.

The Edinburgh Dungeon for only £15

Book tickets to the Edinburgh Dungeon here – for only £15. Attraction is rated at 4.6* from over 1,500 reviews. It’s also much cheaper than the London Dungeon. Which costs £30 to enter.

The Hotel

The Kimpton is an Edinburgh Luxury Hotel. But it’s definitely a 4* hotel. I say that because it’s a 4* hotel with 5* prices! The rates get above £450 for a base room in August. So it’s useful to know what you get for your money!

For comparison, Edinburgh is an expensive city. The Intercontinental Edinburgh charges £550 for a room in August. My review of that hotel is here. I loved it! The building is stunning. I had an amazing view of the city from my room. 

The Kimpton is a good 4* hotel. The real selling point of the hotel is the uniqueness and style of hotel. The hotel has a Shoreditch Loft vibe. They knocked together 7 townhouses to create the hotel, and the décor is beautiful. Think low lighting, unique pieces of furniture and stylish art. I took a bunch of lovely photos in the slideshow above. As you walk around the hotel, you can feel a wonderful ambience.

The Kimpton Edinburgh has 180 guest rooms and 19 suites. The architecture is very much Scotland. A property like this could only exist in Scotland or the United Kingdom.

The uniqueness and stylishness of the hotel really do make up for some of its flaws, and it explains why they can charge a premium. Most chain hotels follow a similar pattern. A large lobby and restaurants on the ground floor, meeting rooms on the 1st floor and then bedrooms above that.

My blog contains tons of reviews of hotels like that. Such as the Intercontinental Estoril in Lisbon. A 5* beach front resort, with rooms at €140/night. The Kimpton Edinburgh is certainly an antidote to that.

The Kimpton has a fitness centre. Open from 6.30am to 9pm. With free weights, cardio machines and resistance machines.

The hotel has a swimming pool, sauna and spa.

I should mention that the hotel isn’t really designed for kids. The Swimming pool is pretty deep, the rooms are pretty small and the ground floor bars don’t always let kids in. That being said there were a few families there (including my own!).

The Elite Benefits

I’ll make a quick mention of the benefits I got as an IHG Platinum Elite. I got 600 points and that’s about it! I didn’t get an upgrade. This may have been because I booked the hotel using IHG points. However it’s still not good!

This might be an Edinburgh luxury hotel, but the elite treatment wasn’t there.

The Room

My room at the Kimpton Edinburgh wasn’t the best. Hell, it was bad! It had the following features:

• 2nd floor room
  
• Overlooking the bins!
  
• Small room with double bed and small table (15 metres squared)
  
• No bath. Just a shower
  
• Stylish décor
  

There’s no sugar coating this – the room was disappointing. If you pay £450 to stay here in high season, this isn’t a great return! The view from the room was horrible, overlooking the bins!

The room was also very small – it was cramped for myself, my wife and daughter. While the size of the room may not be an issue for a couple, it’s not ideal for families. The room was 15 metres squares. An ‘essential room’.

The hotel is a bit sneaky when it comes to advertising these rooms. On their website, they don’t have any photos of the Essential room. They just have photos of the larger rooms!

Looking at a random date, a premium room is £30 more than the Essential Room. Definitely worth the money!

There was no bathtub, just a shower. I’ve mentioned on this blog that I view showers as a feature of a budget hotels, like the Holiday Inn Express Paris.

However, this is increasing becoming a feature of upmarket hotels. Like when I stayed at the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai – review here. The reason why hotels do this is clear, it saves space and allows them to have more rooms. However, if I’m paying a premium price to stay at a hotel, I do want to get some extra space.

I was also disappointed that there wasn’t a coffee machine in the room. I don’t personally drink coffee, but I do think that hotels like this should have in room coffee machines. There was a kettle, instant coffee and some tea bags.

The Breakfast

I mentioned above that the breakfast was decent! The breakfast was better than most hotels, although not amazing by any stretch. There was a small buffet with English breakfast items, cold cuts, fruit and cereals. There were also some cook to order items:

• Porridge
  
• Veggie Sausages
  
• Avocado on toast
  
• Salmon and Eggs
  
• Waffles

The Wine Hour – big letdown!

All Kimpton hotels offer free wine for one hour every evening. The Kimpton Edinburgh does this between 5-6pm in Baba bar. I visited the wine hour on the 1st night and soon regretted it. I had some rose wine which tasted like acid – I could only have one sip.

It’s a pity that the hotel chooses to view the wine hour as an obligation and offer the cheapest wine they could find. It wouldn’t hurt them to offer a slightly more expensive wine and some nibbles. This would create some goodwill and wouldn’t cost a lot.

The hotel didn’t advertise this offer anywhere either. Not in the bar or the front desk.

The Pool and Spa

The hotel has a swimming pool and spa area which is just as stylish as the rest of the hotel. There’s a pool, sauna and jacuzzi. Photos are in the slideshow above. The water was quite deep, so not ideal for kids.

I also had a deep tissue massage, which cost £80 ($110) for 1 hour. That is not too bad for a hotel in the centre of Edinburgh. The massage was also very good.

My Take on the Kimpton Edinburgh

I’m really conflicted about the hotel. It really is beautiful and has a great location. And the Tripadvisor reviewers are very positive. But there are some things I didn’t like.

The Kimpton Edinburgh is a luxury Edinburgh hotel in the centre of city. They have spent a lot of money on the décor and the hotel looks terrific. However, the hotel has cut some corners in a few places. No in room water or coffee machine, the bedrooms are small and hotel isn’t too family friendly.

Some people will love it, others not so much!

I reviewed the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London. It was pretty awesome. The hotel is right opposite Hyde Park, the breakfast was excellent and the club lounge was nice.